This invention relates generally to communications systems and, in particular, to methods and apparatus for providing services to wireless equipment in a wireless communications system.
There is an ever increasing demand for wireless communications. Wireless subscribers desire to have access to information at any time and at any place. One of the fastest growing markets for providing wireless services is known as xe2x80x9ctelematicsxe2x80x9d and entails delivering a wide spectrum of information via wireless links to vehicle-based subscribers. The information can originate from multiple sources, such as the Internet and other public, private, and/or government computer-based networks; wireless telecommunications such as cellular, Personal Communication Service (PCS), satellite, land-mobile, and the like; terrestrial and satellite direct broadcasts including traditional AM/FM bands, broadband, television, video, geolocation and navigation via a global position system (GPS), and the like; concierge services providing roadside assistance, emergency calling, remote-door unlocking, accident reporting, travel conditions, vehicle security, stolen vehicle recovery, remote vehicle diagnostics, and the like; advertising services identifying names and locations of businesses such as gas stations, restaurants, hotels, stores, and offices, and the like; tourist services such as points of interest, directions, hours of access, and the like; and many other sources that can provide information of any type. Many of the above services are not universally available, but rather they are transient in both the time and geoposition domains.
Information can be communicated to telematics devices over relatively long wireless links, such as from a satellite or terrestrial node, or from relatively short wireless or wired links, such as from in-vehicle equipment or from hand-held devices like PDAs, portable computers, cellular phones, and the like.
The services provided by telematics systems are not restricted to vehicle-based subscribers, and they can also be provided to subscribers at home, at work, or elsewhere. With so much mobility, the equipment located in the subscriber""s vehicle, or the equipment carried by or otherwise serving a subscriber, needs a way to connect with the plethora of services that are potentially available to it. The equipment needs a way to discover, identify, select, and invoke services that are of interest to it, as well as to disconnect from services that are no longer of interest to it.
It is known in the prior art to utilize certain commercially available software to locate services. However, systems utilizing such software are fixed, not mobile. Mobile systems require connection software that is specifically designed to fulfill requirements that distinguish mobile systems from fixed systems. For example, mobile systems often have limited battery power, limited bandwidth, limited memory, and only stay in any given place for a limited time.
Mobile systems also may have rigorous security requirements in order to protect the identify and location of mobile subscribers, as well as to insure that the mobile equipment, including software, is not involuntarily altered or corrupted, for example, by downloading uncertified software that could replace, infect, or otherwise have an adverse impact upon the software residing in the system. Known systems that dynamically provide access to services typically download software code to the client platform and execute the code on the client platform. Not only does this introduce potentially dangerous security issues, but the downloaded code can overwhelm the mobile system""s limited memory capability.
It is known in the art for potentially all services that could be requested by an application on a client platform to register as available. For example, in the Jini(trademark) connection technology commercially available from Sun Microsystems, Palo Alto, Calif., services register themselves with all lookup servers belonging to the same group, irrespective of demand for the services. However, this can be a significant disadvantage in a mobile platform, because the platform""s communications traffic could be excessive, and further the platform""s resources could be quickly depleted.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for methods and apparatus that are more conserving of resources in the client platform, particularly for mobile platforms.
There is also a significant need for methods and apparatus that do not automatically populate a client platform""s service registry with entries representing remote services but that look up and connect services only when they are requested by a service-requesting entity.
A significant disadvantage of the prior art connection software is that the application must be heavily involved with the service-locating operation at every stage. Further, the application must be heavily involved for every service that it desires access to. Thus, a significant burden is placed upon the application in known prior art connection software. While this burden may be somewhat mitigated on relatively powerful platforms, it quickly becomes a resource drain on mobile platforms that have relatively low processing resources, memory resources, battery resources, and communications bandwidth.
Thus there is further a significant need for methods and apparatus that look for and connect with remote services without substantial involvement of requesting entities.